Feinstein Wants A Public Hearing With Trump Jr. ‘Come Hell Or High Water’

The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee said she fully expects to see Donald Trump Jr. back on Capitol Hill for a public hearing at some point to further discuss his meeting with a Russian lawyer last summer.

Trump Jr. met with the Senate Judiciary Committee for four hours last week to discuss his role in arranging a meeting that was proposed by a family friend as a chance to learn damaging information about his father’s presidential-opponent Hillary Clinton. It was presented as being a part of the Russian government’s efforts to aid President Donald Trump’s campaign, according to emails Trump Jr. released himself.

After that meeting, CNN asked Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) if she expected to see Trump Jr. back in the Senate for public testimony.

“I do — come hell or high water,” she told the network.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has been less committed than Feinstein about whether he plans to bring Trump Jr. back for further questioning, CNN reported.

During his interview with judiciary staff last week, Trump Jr. called the meeting with Kremlin-linked individuals a waste of time and he said he took the meeting to see if they had information about Clinton’s “fitness” for office.

He claimed neither he nor anyone he knew colluded with any foreign governments during the campaign.

Both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee have expressed interest in fully vetting Trump Jr. after he released the email chain that led to his meeting with the Russian lawyer last summer.

In those emails the President’s son said he would “love” to meet with the Russians if they were able to produce damaging information on Clinton.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Nicole Lafond is a news writer for TPM based in New York City. She is also currently earning a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University and previously worked as an education reporter at The News-Gazette in Champaign, Ill. Follow her on Twitter @Nicole_Lafond.